My house is haunted: a case of Crotalus cascavella

by Tomas Vyboch

In November 2012, I visited my
good friend Ivan. He wanted to discuss things between Heaven and Earth. He knew
that this topic is one of my favourites and therefore he could speak without shyness or fear that
someone would laugh at him. He spoke enthusiastically about how he attended a
clairvoyant who gave him a detailed description of his personality,
strengths and weaknesses, the situation in his family, and also his
relationship. We talked about the upcoming "End of the World", which
was supposed to happen on the 21st of December. Ivan told me how he felt about
it, saying that in his opinion it will be just a kind of renewal, a change that
happens, and that he feels this internal
change already. I was very surprised, not by the content of his words but by
the zeal and enthusiasm radiating from
him. I admit that so far I had no idea how strongly Ivan engaged in the world
of spirituality. He did not let me say anything; he spoke almost all the time,
going from one theme to the other.

Strange things happen in the houseAfter a short pause between two breaths, I asked him how things were going
at home. I know that some strange things had been happening in his house
for several years. Then, he began to
speak slowly: "I feel that it is still escalating. At night, I wake up. I
often dream about the old woman who is in our house, even in my room, and she
is watching me. When I wake up, I feel that she is there, but I do not see her.
I feel that the energy is not good . Sometimes, I feel a cold energy in
the house, even if the windows are closed. It sometimes happens that the TV in
my room turns on without any reason. A few moments after I turn it off, it
turns on again. Sometimes, the drawers in my living room open up by themselves,
but I know that I have left them shut. Sometimes, I fear that I will go
insane. I want it to stop. I am scared."

I do not want to exaggerate
this story; it is not a horror
story from the movies, where the most unrealistic things happen and life is
threatened. This was not the issue, however, I saw that Ivan was really
scared. What I would like to emphasize is the fact that Ivan is not a kind of “mad
esoterist”, unstable and full of uncertainty. He is a very stable, well grounded,
natural person, and not the kind of person who inflates stories in order to
gain attention. His work is very practical, in the financial sector. He was
quite shy and calm while telling me his story, and he did not tell this to anybody
else.

When is treatment necessary? I wanted to help Ivan but I had an important
dilemma, which I had thought about many times before. What is the role of
the therapist in this case? Should I give the patient the right remedy in
order to eliminate his supersensitive perception of the invisible world? Is his
perception real? Is it some invisible reality or it is just fantasy that
emanates from the subconscious? What if it is a spiritual gift which is
needed for his internal development or his spiritual task? Will I not harm him,
if the remedy weakens his perception? I assume that many homeopaths deal
with this kind of issue in their practice. We need to ask ourselves if these
spiritual experiences are a part of our patients’ spiritual development or
a dangerous pathology which should be treated.

The answer comes from the patient.
If he feels too constrained by his ability, if it paralyzes him and does not
allow him to live a fullfiled life, it is necessary to intervene. It is, however,
important to note that the primary significance and pointer in judging the “normality”
and “abnormality” here mainly lies with the patient, not the homeopath. It is
important that the therapist should not play the role of a judge who knows
best what the patient is experiencing and whether he can handle it. As
everywhere, there are certainly exceptions. If the patient is completely out of
his senses and has uncontrollable outbursts but he thinks he can handle it, the
intervention of the therapist is needed.
I suggested that he tried homeopathy even though I personally felt that Ivan
could handle the state without any treatment. As he welcomed the idea, I
started to search for his remedy.

Strange coincidencesSo far, I had no experience with the treatment of mental conditions
without any physical problems. Coincidentally, a few days before the
meeting with Ivan, I attended a homeopathic seminar with Markus
Kuntosch, “The colours of
homeopathy”[1] “The colours of homeopathy” in Bratislava,
where we learned how to use the colour spectrum in our practice. It is really
simple and clinically proven. I showed Ivan the color spectrum and asked which
colour was his favourite. Without reflecting long, he pointed to the colour
turquoise. As I already knew, people who need a snake remedies often
choose turquoise as their favourite. That in itself is not a sufficient reason
for choosing the remedy, it is just one symptom. In the realm of snake venoms,
however, we have one that has a close relationship with the invisible
world; it deals with the underworld, has dreams of dead people, and can
communicate with them. Spirits can also haunt them. This is the Brazilian
rattlesnake, Crotalus cascavella. I realized that this was the case. A
ghost haunted him!

Of course, I know that this is
not a usual approach to prescribe the remedy, based just on two symptoms, in
this case the colour preference and mental modalities, but I did not see
any other peculiarities nor generals and particulars. Another strange “co-incidence”
was that I had just bought this medicine from the pharmacy shortly before
Ivan’s visit.

Prescription: I gave
him one dose of Crotalus cascavella 200C and asked him to report any
changes.

Follow-up
The next day, Ivan reported that his condition had worsened;
he was afraid to go home. He almost did not recognize his brother, who seemed
like a monster to him. I advised him to try to manage it and to contact me
if the situation did not improve.

I am not afraid, even if the phenomenon would
come backHe did not contact me for two months. I supposed that
the state was the same as before the remedy, but just to be sure I called
him after three months and asked how was he doing. He answered: “Very well”. Since he
did not continue, I asked him about the situation in his house. “Oh that? That stopped. Nothing
happens in the house anymore and I don’t see anything, either. The nightmares
have also disappeared. But do you know what surprises me most? I don’t
have any fear, even if the situation would come back. I feel like
I am stronger, like I am in a kind of protective bubble.”

I was very happy with the result.
More than the fact that the strange events and experiences subsided, I enjoyed
his changed attitude. The often repeated phrase of homeopaths was again
confirmed: “We most learn from our practice, not from books and seminars.” I
did not need to deal with the dilemma concerning the spiritual development of
my friend, the remedy took care of the issue. The patient gained the inner
strength he needed, and if the strange phenomenon would once again appear, he
would be able to face it without fear.

[1] Based on the work of Ulrich Welte “Colors in Homeopathy” Narayana Verlag, 2009